Polls progress: Campaigns have ended. The last phase poll is on 1st June 2024. Exit polls are on 2nd June 2024. Results are on 4th June 2024. Meanwhile, as the electioneering ends, Modi has gone to Kanyakumari to meditate on the Vivekananda rock. Leaders started coming back, after their breaks after electioneering.
Will the new Government be of the poor, vulnerable, and marginalized, for the poor and by the poor? Will its plans and budgets be tailored to redefine their livelihoods, education, health, lives, well-being, and destinies? Will it be inclusive, equitable, and fair? Will it be sensitive and responsive? Will it be unto the last? Will it put the last first? Rather than blaming the past, will it be in the present and future? Will it be truthful, authentic, live the promise(s), go beyond rhetoric, and move towards a shared vision of amrt kaal? Will it be Krsnarajya, Ramarajya? Will it be participatory, decentralized governance, and government on the ground? Will we have ‘nyay’ delivered, and ‘guarantees’ offered in the next five years, or are we taken up the garden path? Will we continue with direct benefit transfers to the poor or all? Legal guarantee for the minimum income for each family? Legal guarantee for minimum support prices, fair remunerative prices for produce, service, and wage portfolio of the marginalized? Support for natural farming, food systems, living? Will we see the phasing out of artificial, undesirable, harmful subsidies? Will we stop double, multiple tongues? Will we speak no lies, no exaggerations, no propaganda?
Can we focus on governance, rather than ‘slogans’, symbols, etc.? Can we stop claiming that we are introducing our heroes now? Vivekananda, Tagore, Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, and so on. They are the Everests. We do not have to pat them. Instead, can we acknowledge them properly with the respect they deserve? Can we have curriculums that acknowledge this?
Soaring temperatures all over. Delhi 53°C. Many places have recorded maximum temperatures in the 50s.
Can we become entrepreneurs and work with pico, nano, micro, and ultra enterprises for services, produce, products, and value addition? Can we facilitate them? Can we pool them up, and integrate them? For surpluses to make a living. For steady cash flows, multiple sub-ventures, portfolio of tasks, and ideas. Servicing diverse custom needs of customers, taking risks, for resilience. Personal touch. Some 1-2 Crore of them are doing this. Can the political, bureaucratic, and business systems learn from these?
There are three categories of empathy – emotional – sharing, connecting; cognitive – getting into the shoes of the concerned to appreciate, and understand; compassionate – action, transcending understanding, sharing. Immersions, simulations, role plays, diverse experiences; observations, games-exercises, cause-effect analysis, critical thinking, reflection; problem-solving, solution, action. Can we learn these three categories of empathy tools and skills? Can we mentor our mentees in these skills?
We needn’t blame ourselves or our actions. It is always someone else. Something else. Can we start owning our thoughts, words, deeds, influences et al, and take responsibility with humility? If our houses are homes, we are happy and joyous. We are happy, joyous people by our nature. Unless we don’t want to be happy. Only the joyous being makes the world joyous, and vice-versa. Our thoughts, and emotions – connected or unconnected with material reality around us – are the sources of suffering or joy within us. We are alive. We are doing our best. That is good enough for us to be joyous beings. We do not seek happiness or joy. The joy is already within us, we need to express it. We live in our expressions, articulations, emotions, smiles, and care. Living, and being useful is joy. Can we be joyous, and happy?
Yes, we can. If we coexist, co-flow. In N? In antharyoga for 7L.
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